The present invention relates to scalp apparatus for regulating the temperature of the scalp of a wearer in general and in particular to scalp apparatus in which the temperature of the scalp of the wearer is regulated by natural convection.
The use of cytotoxic agents in, for example, chemotherapy of cancer patients almost always leads to hair loss known as alopecia. Alopecia can be prevented by cooling the hair bearing scalp because drug uptake by hair follicles is reduced as a consequence of cutaneous vasoconstriction and the inhibition of cellular metabolic pathways. Other treatments are known for different medical conditions which require heating the scalp of the user.
Conventional apparatus for achieving regulation of the temperature of the scalp of a wearer entails direct cooling or heating of the scalp of the user. Conventional apparatus falls into three basic categories, which for sake of explanation, are described for cooling the scalp of a wearer. The first type of apparatus, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,149 to Tatsuki, includes the application of crushed ice compresses or shaped cryogen packs against the scalp of the wearer. In a similar application for facilitating post-traumatic, post-surgical and/or post-inflammatory healing of tissue, U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,384 to Bosniak et al., teaches the use of thermoelectric elements for cooling fluid filled deformable members which are in physical engagement with an underlying skin surface. The second type of apparatus, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,455 to Kramer, includes the circulation of chilled liquid in close thermal contact with the scalp. And the third type of apparatus, as described in WO 89/09583 to Maxted et al., includes the forced circulation of cold air in a closed air space surrounding the scalp of the wearer for cooling the scalp through the wind-chill effect.
These techniques suffer from a number of disadvantages. First, they often require pre-treatment in the form of hair-wetting for improving cooling. Second, condensation typically forms on the inside and/or outside of the head cooling implement which eventually forms dewdrops which run down onto the wearer's face. Third, the wearer often suffers uncomfortable sensations of either "cold-shock" by the application of cold assemblies against his scalp or "wind-chill" by the forced circulation of cold air. And finally, the head cooling implement often has to be provided in several sizes for fitting a wide range of wearers.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a scalp apparatus for regulating the temperature of the scalp of a wearer without the aforementioned deficiencies.